Whoomf,the fire blazed to life, filling the cabin with warmth. Raven rubbed her hands together in front of the flames. “What are you afraid will happen?” she asked.
Gabriel sniffed and stood. “I’m afraid we’ll starve to death if we don’t find some food in this mountain-forsaken place.”
Frustrated with his lack of answer, Raven made her way into the small kitchen and opened the cabinets. “There’s only one bowl and one spoon.”
He gave a low groan and lifted the lid off the pot on the stove. Steam curled off what appeared to be soup. “At least we’ve been provided for. We’ll take turns. You can eat first.” He filled the bowl and handed it back to her.
Raven carried her food to the table, but when she tried to sit down, the chair lurched away from her. She barely caught herself in time to avoid a miserable fall. Steadying herself, she plunked the bowl down. “The cabin would likeyouto eat first.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It couldn’t possibly—” As soon as Gabriel was close enough, the chair veered around the table andcaught him behind the knees. He dropped onto the seat beside her, the legs scraping the wood floor.
“As I was saying.”
“It makes no sense. Why would the cabin want me to eat first?”
“Ahhhh!” The rug yanked out from under Raven’s feet and sent her flying into Gabriel’s lap. His laugh when he caught her warmed her from the inside out. It had been months since she’d heard him laugh like that. Lately, he always seemed … burdened.
“I think the cabin wants us to eat together, little witch,” he said, his nose brushing the side of hers. With his face so close, she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and how her body fit easily into his. This is how it was supposed to be, like they were made for each other. But then, of course, they were. He was her mate. The other half of her soul. Which made it her duty to understand his earlier comment. It was up to her to help Gabriel through whatever was ailing him.
She rested her forehead against his. “Gabriel, what did you mean before, when you said you were afraid of what might happen?”
He kissed the question from her lips, kissed her so deeply, she almost forgot about her question. She dug her fingers into his hair and repositioned herself on his lap when the evidence of his desire for her became apparent. But a niggle at the back of her mind had her drawing back. “Gabriel…”
“It’s nothing.”
“If you’re avoiding talking about it, it’s something!”
“The cabin wants us to eat, Raven. Do not upset the cabin.” He made a show of taking a bite and then held a spoonful to her lips as if she were a child. It did smell good, and it would be a shame to let it get cold. She caved and took a bite.Mmmm.
Feeding each other proved romantic, and the food delicious, especially considering a sentient building was responsible forthe dish, but when they finished and could no longer blame the chewing and swallowing for their silence, an unsettling quiet unraveled between them.
“Gabriel, what is it? What is driving you to work yourself to the bone like this?”
He winked at her, starting in on the buttons of his tunic. “Don’t ruin the moment. Let’s go to bed.”
“There is no moment, Gabriel. The moment is waiting for you to be honest with me.”
But he only finished undressing and slipped into the small bathroom. “There’s a bathtub,” he said. “Do you want to take a bath?”
“Will the tub hold your head underwater until you agree to talk to me?”
He closed the door, leaving Raven alone and more concerned than ever.
CHAPTER 4
Sometime later, Raven and Gabriel climbed into the big feather bed, both distracted with the weight of Raven’s unanswered question. He reached for her, but she scooted away to the edge of the mattress. “Not until you tell me what you’re so afraid of that’s making you bury yourself in your work!”
But the bed had other ideas. With a violent vibration, the mattress shrank, one inch, then two. Soon she had no choice but to roll on top of him or fall off the side. “Damn it!”
His eyebrows shot up as his hands landed on her hips. “Now, this is more what I had in mind. I’m beginning to like this cabin.”
“Gabriel!” She moved to climb off him, but he held her firmly in place.
“Fine!” he growled. With a deep, beleaguered sigh, he seemed to decide there was no putting her off, which was wise because Raven wasn’t even close to giving up. With a resolved huff, he admitted, “I worry about the implications now that Charlie is taking on more and more responsibility. What if there comes a time when she—when the kingdom—again faces an evil force like my mother? What if she’s not ready, and I’ve allowed myself to drift so far out of the loop I can’t help her?”
“We’re immortal, Gabriel. We might be ruling this kingdom for a very long time. I doubt that handing off more responsibilities to our daughter will in any way dull your ability to respond to an attack.”
He sighed. “The kingdom is at peace. Our people are content. Our system of governance is righting centuries of wrongs. It’s not that I don’t trust Charlie, or Marius, or any of my other siblings for that matter. It’s just that I fear if I take my thumb off this kingdom for even a day, things will get away from me again. Another one of the empress’s supporters will rise. Some dark magic will bubble up from a long-forgotten well.”
